The touch artist par excellence with the willow, Gundappa Vishwanath, recalled fond memories of making his Test debut under one of Hyderabad’s finest cricketers ever - ‘Tiger’ Pataudi.
Launching the Sports Square Cricket Academy on Meridian School premises at Madhapur on Monday, he reminisced the eventful days when he was asked about his Test debut.
“I remember being very nervous, especially before the chance to bat in the second innings after scoring a duck in the first against Australia in the 1969 Test in Kanpur. Then, when I was watching intensely the brief partnership between Ashok Mankad and Ajit Wadekar, I got a tap on my shoulder. When I looked back, it was my captain Tiger, who told me: ‘relax, you will score a hundred’,” he recalled.
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“While he might have said that just to ease pressure on me, destiny saw to it that I hit a ton,” he said to the applause of the select gathering. While he was pleased to inaugurate the Maxtalent Global Sports initiative to set up the academy, he stressed the need to get the basics right for youngsters. “I have seen many schools where drill masters are coaching cricketers. It saddens me. I am glad that my contemporaries are with his academy,” Vishwanath said. Sudhakar Shetty, chairman and CEO, Maxtalent Global Sports, and Mr. Adarsh, CEO, Sports Square, promised to encourage the young talents.